Location: Toledo, Ohio

Toledo was founded in 1833 on the west bank of the Maumee River near the entrance from Lake Erie. It was originally part of Michigan, but annexed to Ohio after the "Toledo War" settlement in 1837 which gave this section of land to Ohio in exchange for Michigan receiving lands in what would become the Upper Peninsula. In 1845, the Miami and Erie canal was completed and the town grew rapidly as a transportation hub for lake, canal and railroads.

The Erie and Kalamazoo railroad was the first railroad in Toledo, extending from downtown to Adrian, Michigan.

Glass manufactures arrived in the 1880's and the town was knicknamed "Glass City". The population of Toledo in 2010 was 287,128, the fourth-most populous city in Ohio. The metropolitan region has a population of just over 600,000.

Over the years, the following railroads reached the Toledo region:

  • Ann Arbor (downtown Toledo north to Frankfort, MI via Ann Arbor)
  • Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton (Toledo/Rossford to Dayton vis Deshler) - became B&O/CSX
  • Clover Leaf - Toledo, St. Louis & Western (Maumee area to western Indiana) - abandoned
  • Detroit & Toledo Shore Line (North Toledo area to Detroit) - became GTW/CN
  • Detroit, Toledo & Ironton (Temperance area to Dundee, MI) - abandoned
  • Erie & Kalamazoo (later LS&MS and called the "Old Road" to Adrian, MI) - became LSMS/NYC/NS
  • Hocking Valley (Toledo south to Columbus via Fostoria, OH) - became C&O/CSX
  • Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (Toledo east to Cleveland) - became NYC/NS
  • Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (Toledo north to Detroit) - became NYC/NS
  • Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (Toledo west to Elkhart) - the "Michigan Southern Air Line" - became NYC/NS
  • Michigan Central (Toledo north to Detroit) - became NYC/NS
  • Pennsylvania (Toledo southeast to Mansfield, OH) - became Conrail/NS
  • Pennsylvania (Toledo north via Pere Marquette to Detroit via Carleton, MI) - became Conrail/CSX
  • Pere Marquette (Toledo north to Saginaw, MI via Carleton, MI) - became C&O/CSX
  • Toledo & Ohio Central (Stanley to Columbus via Findley, OH) - became NYC, then abandoned
  • Toledo & Ohio Central (Stanley to east of Columbus via Fostoria, OH) - became NYC/Conrail/CSX
  • Toledo & Western (Sylvania to Morenci, MI) - abandoned
  • Toledo, Angola & Western (Vulcan west to Silicia, OH) - abandoned
  • Toledo Terminal (built in the early 1900's, this is a belt line around the Toledo region) - became CSX
  • Wabash (Middlegrounds south to Definance, OH - became N&W/NS
  • Wabash (Middlegrounds west to Chicago, IL - became N&W and abandoned
  • Wheeling & Lake Erie (Toledo east to Bellevue and Cleveland) - became NKP/N&W/NS

Toledo had three main groupings of passenger stations.

  • Union Station - located near Broadway and I-75 is the Amtrak station and previously used by the New York Central, B&O and other railroads.
  • Clover Leaf Station - located near what is now anthony Wayne drive and Swan Creek.
  • Cherry Street Stations - The Toledo Terminal, Ann Arbor and Wheeling & Lake Erie all had stations fronting Cherry Street, near what is now called Greenbelt Parkway
  • Other Locations - there were small, individual stations over the years, such as Wagon Works, and areas east of the Maumee River.

Note: On the Lucus County menu, locations along these llines are listed alphabetically or as a subset of Toledo, OH locations.


Notes


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Bibliography

The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:

  • [AAB| = All Aboard!, by Willis Dunbar, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids ©1969.
  • [AAN] = Alpena Argus newspaper.
  • [AARQJ] = American Association of Railroads Quiz Jr. pamphlet. © 1956
  • [AATHA] = Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association newsletter "The Double A"
  • [AB] = Information provided at Michigan History Conference from Andrew Bailey, Port Huron, MI

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